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Books 2008
I was hoping to get 125 this year, but fell a little short. Parenthesis indicate books I'd read before this year and reread.
1. The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi
2. A War of Gifts by Orson Scott Card
3. The Bone Doll’s Twin by Lynn Flewelling
4. Gurahl by White Wolf
5. Only You Can Save Mankind by Terry Pratchett
6. Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
7. (Old Man’s War by John Scalzi)
8. Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake
9. Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake
10. Titus Alone by Mervyn Peake
11. Hidden Warrior by Lynn Flewelling
12. Interworld by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves
13. (The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman)
14. The Aeneid by Virgil
15. The Oracle’s Queen by Lynn Flewelling
16. Fast and Fun Machine Quilting ed. by Karen Costello Soltys
17. The Burglar on the Prowl by Lawrence Block
18. Strata by Terry Pratchett
19. Truckers by Terry Pratchett
20. Macbeth by William Shakespeare
21. Diggers by Terry Pratchett
22. Wings by Terry Pratchett
23. Madame Bovary by Gustav Flaubert
24. Dinosaurs of the Flaming Cliffs by Michael Novacek
25. The Naked Marquis by Sally MacKenzie
26. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
27. The Sky is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist by Neil de Grasse Tyson
28. The Second Summoning by Tanya Huff
29. We Can Build You by Philip K. Dick
30. Long Hot Summoning by Tanya Huff
31. The Big Over Easy by Jaspar Fforde
32. Finding Magic by Tanya Huff
33. The Places that Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times by Pema Chodron
34. The Sharing Knife: Beguilement by Lois McMaster Bujold
35. Munchkin Masters Guide by Steve Jackson Games
36. Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling
37. Kushiel’s Chosen by Jacqueline Carey
38. Kushiel’s Avatar by Jacqueline Carey
39. The Price by Alexandra Sokolov
40. Sing the Four Quarters by Tanya Huff
41. Munchkin Players’ Guide by Steve Jackson Games
42. The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas
43. A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
44. Superman vs. Hollywood: How Fiendish Producers, Devious Directors, and Warring Writers Grounded an American Icon by Jake Rossen and Mark Millar
45. Looking for Alaska by Peter Jenkins
46. The Sleeping Doll by Jeffery Deaver
47. (Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold)
48. The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security by Kevin Mitnick and William L. Simon
49. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
50. Too Many Magicians by Randall Garrett
51. Murder and Magic by Randall Garrett
52. Lord Darcy Investigates by Randall Garrett
53. (Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold)
54. Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory by Mickey Rapkin
55. Not Since Carrie: 40 Years of Broadway Musical Flops by Ken Mandelbaum
56. (Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold)
57. Apprentice Fantastic ed. by Martin H. Greenberg and Russell Davis
58. The Sharing Knife: Legacy by Lois McMaster Bujold
59. (Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold)
60. Did You Say Chicks?! ed. by Esther Friesner
61. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks
62. The Uncollected Wodehouse ed. by David A. Jasen
63. A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts by Andrew Chaiken
64. Johnny and the Dead by Terry Pratchett
65. Johnny and the Bomb by Terry Pratchett
66. Atonement by Ian McEwan
67. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
68. The Science of Discworld II: The Globe by Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart, and Jack Cohen
69. (Adiamante by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.)
70. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
71. The Final Solution: A Novel of Detection by Michael Chabon
72. Something Rotten by Jaspar Fforde
73. (Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold)
74. The Nautical Chart by Arturo Perez-Reverte
75. Pride and Prescience: Or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged by Carrie Bebris
76. The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead by Max Brooks
77. A Princess of Roumania by Paul Park
78. Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton
79. Why Spy? Espionage in an Age of Uncertainty by Frederick Hitz
80. Your Brain is (Almost) Perfect: How We Make Decisions by Read Montague
81. When I’m Bad, I’m Better: Mae West, Sex, and American Entertainment by Marybeth Hamilton
82. The Monster of Florence: A True Story by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi
83. Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves by P.G. Wodenhouse
84. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orcazy
85. The Unsung Hero by Suzanne Brockman
86. The Defiant Hero by Suzanne Brockman
87. Taste: The Story of Britain through its Cooking by Kate Colquhoun
88. The Black Hole War: My Battle with Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics by Leonard Susskind
89. Kushiel’s Scion by Jacqueline Carey
90. Spinneret by Timothy Zahn
91. The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn
92. Hellboy II: The Golden Army by Robert Greenberger
93. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
94. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories by H. P. Lovecraft
95. Lovecraft: A Biography by L. Sprague de Camp
96. What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist – The Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England by Daniel Pool
97. The Serpent and the Moon: Two Rivals for the Love of a Renaissance King by Princess Michael of Kent
98. The Technomancer’s Toybox by White Wolf Games
99. Guide to the Technocracy by White Wolf Games
100. The Sea Warriors by Richard Woodman
101. When Good People Have Affairs by Mira Kirshenbaum
102. Kushiel’s Justice by Jacqueline Carey
103. Black Juice by Margo Lanagan
104. Darwin’s Radio by Greg Bear
105. Genesis, Translation and Commentary by Robert Alter
106. On the Edge by Suzanne Brockman
107. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
108. First Among Sequels by Jaspar Fforde
109. (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)
110. Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood
111. (Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte)
112. (Arrow’s Flight by Mercedes Lackey)
113. The Man Who Would Be King and other stories by Rudyard Kipling
114. (Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie)
115. The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer
116. (Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman)
117. Deep Secrets by Diana Wynne Jones
118. Fabrege: Treasures of the Kremlin pub. by The Bellagio
119. Modern Classics of Fantasy ed. By Gardner Dozois
120. Death in Holy Orders by P.D. James
121. Viking Unchained by Sandra Hill
122. The London Blitz Murders by Max Allen Collins
And here are the best and worst of the lot:
These were great:
1. The Bone Doll’s Twin by Lynn Flewelling
One of the thoughtful and intriguing fantasy novels I've read in awhile.
2. The Big Over Easy by Jaspar Fforde
Hilarious and brilliant. Start with The Eyre Affair, though. Literature come to life, rogue genetics, time travel, bad puns, alternate history, and yet it somehow all hangs together.
3. Kushiel’s Avatar by Jacqueline Carey
Dazzlingly complex third in a series. Really, really not for the faint of heart, though - there's some seriously graphic bits.
4. Taste: The Story of Britain through its Cooking by Kate Colquhoun
A really interesting book about how a nation's food changed over the course of its history. Wow, we used to eat a lot of stuff we don't eat anymore.
5. Genesis, Translation and Commentary by Robert Alter
I understand a lot more of this than I ever did before. Really superb.
These were terrible:
1. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
"I'm totally unremarkable, which is why I'm the special-ist snowflake ever! Stalk me!" The more you think about it, the worse it is.
2. The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer
Superman, Cain, and Nazis. Seriously. Makes no fucking sense. Again, thinking makes it worse.
3. A Princess of Roumania by Paul Park
Your magic system makes no sense. Fail.
4. We Can Build You by Philip K. Dick
Intriguing concept totally ignored in favor of being randomly sexist. Thanks.
5. Titus Alone by Mervyn Peake
The first in the trilogy was interesting, although flawed. Book 2 was glacial. Book 3 I think may have been where his dementia kicked in.
1. The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi
2. A War of Gifts by Orson Scott Card
3. The Bone Doll’s Twin by Lynn Flewelling
4. Gurahl by White Wolf
5. Only You Can Save Mankind by Terry Pratchett
6. Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
7. (Old Man’s War by John Scalzi)
8. Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake
9. Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake
10. Titus Alone by Mervyn Peake
11. Hidden Warrior by Lynn Flewelling
12. Interworld by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves
13. (The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman)
14. The Aeneid by Virgil
15. The Oracle’s Queen by Lynn Flewelling
16. Fast and Fun Machine Quilting ed. by Karen Costello Soltys
17. The Burglar on the Prowl by Lawrence Block
18. Strata by Terry Pratchett
19. Truckers by Terry Pratchett
20. Macbeth by William Shakespeare
21. Diggers by Terry Pratchett
22. Wings by Terry Pratchett
23. Madame Bovary by Gustav Flaubert
24. Dinosaurs of the Flaming Cliffs by Michael Novacek
25. The Naked Marquis by Sally MacKenzie
26. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
27. The Sky is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist by Neil de Grasse Tyson
28. The Second Summoning by Tanya Huff
29. We Can Build You by Philip K. Dick
30. Long Hot Summoning by Tanya Huff
31. The Big Over Easy by Jaspar Fforde
32. Finding Magic by Tanya Huff
33. The Places that Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times by Pema Chodron
34. The Sharing Knife: Beguilement by Lois McMaster Bujold
35. Munchkin Masters Guide by Steve Jackson Games
36. Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling
37. Kushiel’s Chosen by Jacqueline Carey
38. Kushiel’s Avatar by Jacqueline Carey
39. The Price by Alexandra Sokolov
40. Sing the Four Quarters by Tanya Huff
41. Munchkin Players’ Guide by Steve Jackson Games
42. The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas
43. A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
44. Superman vs. Hollywood: How Fiendish Producers, Devious Directors, and Warring Writers Grounded an American Icon by Jake Rossen and Mark Millar
45. Looking for Alaska by Peter Jenkins
46. The Sleeping Doll by Jeffery Deaver
47. (Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold)
48. The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security by Kevin Mitnick and William L. Simon
49. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
50. Too Many Magicians by Randall Garrett
51. Murder and Magic by Randall Garrett
52. Lord Darcy Investigates by Randall Garrett
53. (Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold)
54. Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory by Mickey Rapkin
55. Not Since Carrie: 40 Years of Broadway Musical Flops by Ken Mandelbaum
56. (Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold)
57. Apprentice Fantastic ed. by Martin H. Greenberg and Russell Davis
58. The Sharing Knife: Legacy by Lois McMaster Bujold
59. (Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold)
60. Did You Say Chicks?! ed. by Esther Friesner
61. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks
62. The Uncollected Wodehouse ed. by David A. Jasen
63. A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts by Andrew Chaiken
64. Johnny and the Dead by Terry Pratchett
65. Johnny and the Bomb by Terry Pratchett
66. Atonement by Ian McEwan
67. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
68. The Science of Discworld II: The Globe by Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart, and Jack Cohen
69. (Adiamante by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.)
70. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
71. The Final Solution: A Novel of Detection by Michael Chabon
72. Something Rotten by Jaspar Fforde
73. (Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold)
74. The Nautical Chart by Arturo Perez-Reverte
75. Pride and Prescience: Or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged by Carrie Bebris
76. The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead by Max Brooks
77. A Princess of Roumania by Paul Park
78. Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton
79. Why Spy? Espionage in an Age of Uncertainty by Frederick Hitz
80. Your Brain is (Almost) Perfect: How We Make Decisions by Read Montague
81. When I’m Bad, I’m Better: Mae West, Sex, and American Entertainment by Marybeth Hamilton
82. The Monster of Florence: A True Story by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi
83. Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves by P.G. Wodenhouse
84. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orcazy
85. The Unsung Hero by Suzanne Brockman
86. The Defiant Hero by Suzanne Brockman
87. Taste: The Story of Britain through its Cooking by Kate Colquhoun
88. The Black Hole War: My Battle with Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics by Leonard Susskind
89. Kushiel’s Scion by Jacqueline Carey
90. Spinneret by Timothy Zahn
91. The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn
92. Hellboy II: The Golden Army by Robert Greenberger
93. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
94. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories by H. P. Lovecraft
95. Lovecraft: A Biography by L. Sprague de Camp
96. What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist – The Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England by Daniel Pool
97. The Serpent and the Moon: Two Rivals for the Love of a Renaissance King by Princess Michael of Kent
98. The Technomancer’s Toybox by White Wolf Games
99. Guide to the Technocracy by White Wolf Games
100. The Sea Warriors by Richard Woodman
101. When Good People Have Affairs by Mira Kirshenbaum
102. Kushiel’s Justice by Jacqueline Carey
103. Black Juice by Margo Lanagan
104. Darwin’s Radio by Greg Bear
105. Genesis, Translation and Commentary by Robert Alter
106. On the Edge by Suzanne Brockman
107. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
108. First Among Sequels by Jaspar Fforde
109. (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)
110. Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood
111. (Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte)
112. (Arrow’s Flight by Mercedes Lackey)
113. The Man Who Would Be King and other stories by Rudyard Kipling
114. (Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie)
115. The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer
116. (Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman)
117. Deep Secrets by Diana Wynne Jones
118. Fabrege: Treasures of the Kremlin pub. by The Bellagio
119. Modern Classics of Fantasy ed. By Gardner Dozois
120. Death in Holy Orders by P.D. James
121. Viking Unchained by Sandra Hill
122. The London Blitz Murders by Max Allen Collins
And here are the best and worst of the lot:
These were great:
1. The Bone Doll’s Twin by Lynn Flewelling
One of the thoughtful and intriguing fantasy novels I've read in awhile.
2. The Big Over Easy by Jaspar Fforde
Hilarious and brilliant. Start with The Eyre Affair, though. Literature come to life, rogue genetics, time travel, bad puns, alternate history, and yet it somehow all hangs together.
3. Kushiel’s Avatar by Jacqueline Carey
Dazzlingly complex third in a series. Really, really not for the faint of heart, though - there's some seriously graphic bits.
4. Taste: The Story of Britain through its Cooking by Kate Colquhoun
A really interesting book about how a nation's food changed over the course of its history. Wow, we used to eat a lot of stuff we don't eat anymore.
5. Genesis, Translation and Commentary by Robert Alter
I understand a lot more of this than I ever did before. Really superb.
These were terrible:
1. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
"I'm totally unremarkable, which is why I'm the special-ist snowflake ever! Stalk me!" The more you think about it, the worse it is.
2. The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer
Superman, Cain, and Nazis. Seriously. Makes no fucking sense. Again, thinking makes it worse.
3. A Princess of Roumania by Paul Park
Your magic system makes no sense. Fail.
4. We Can Build You by Philip K. Dick
Intriguing concept totally ignored in favor of being randomly sexist. Thanks.
5. Titus Alone by Mervyn Peake
The first in the trilogy was interesting, although flawed. Book 2 was glacial. Book 3 I think may have been where his dementia kicked in.